Super Mario Kart

Super Mario Kart
Developer	Nintendo EAD
Publisher	Nintendo
System	Super NES, Virtual Console (Wii, Wii U, New 3DS)
Release Date	Super NES JP August 27, 1992 US September 1992 EU January 21, 1993 Wii Virtual Console JP June 9, 2009 US November 23, 2009 EU/AU April 2, 2010 Wii U Virtual Console JP June 19, 2013 EU/AU March 27, 2014 US August 6, 2014 3DS Virtual Console PAL March 17, 2016 US March 24, 2016 JP May 9, 2016
Genre	Racing
Gallery	GH Gallery

Super Mario Kart is the first in the series of kart-racing video games starring Mario and supporting characters from the main Super Mario series. The game was made by Nintendo EAD following the success of their previous racing game, F-Zero, and utilizes the same Mode 7 technology. Instead of the high-speed F-Zero experience, Super Mario Kart took on a more fun and cartoonier style.

Gameplay

The player controlled one of eight racers. Each racer rode a go-kart. In a twist that was unique at the time, the racers could collect items which they could use to sabotage other players (or to enhance their own speed). The game contained twenty racetracks, which were divided into four different "cups" (the last one, the Special Cup, had to be unlocked via a code). The game also had a popular two-player mode. Not only could the two players race each other, there was a Battle Mode in which the goal was to collect items and use them to bust all three balloons of the opponent.

Playable Characters

• Mario
• Luigi
• Princess Peach
• Toad
• Yoshi
• Donkey Kong Jr.
• Koopa Troopa
• Bowser

Tracks

Mushroom Cup	Flower Cup	Star Cup	Special Cup
Mario Circuit 1	Choco Island 1	Koopa Beach 1	Donut Plains 3
Donut Plains 1	Ghost Valley 2	Choco Island 2	Koopa Beach 2
Ghost Valley 1	Donut Plains 2	Vanilla Lake 1	Ghost Valley 3
Bowser Castle 1	Bowser Castle 2	Bowser Castle 3	Vanilla Lake 2
Mario Circuit 2	Mario Circuit 3	Mario Circuit 4	Rainbow Road

Legacy

This game left an impact upon the gaming world and inspired many other series to follow similar premises of having games where characters race around in go-karts. Within the Mario universe, Super Mario Kart was also notable as the first "sports" spin-off game to be based heavily on the Mario games and to feature a cast of Mario-related characters. It was preceded only by NES Open Tournament Golf, which had a much smaller cast and followed a real world setting rather than being set in the world of the Mario games. Super Mario Kart paved the way for a variety of Mario sports games that mostly emerged during the Nintendo 64 era.

The Mario Kart series itself would go on to become one of the most popular Mario subseries and would feature an installment on every Nintendo system going forward (with the exception of the Game Boy Color). Various courses from the game have also reappeared as Retro courses in later Mario Kart games, starting in Mario Kart DS.

Ports/Remakes

• While not a direct remake, all of the game's tracks appear as unlockable courses in Mario Kart: Super Circuit for the Game Boy Advance.
• In the game's first full port, Super Mario Kart was released for download over the Wii's Virtual Console in 2009. It received another release for the Wii U Virtual Console in 2014 and the 3DS Virtual Console (for New 3DS only) in 2016.
• In 2017, it was included in the Super NES Classic Edition.
• In September 2019, it was among the first wave of Super NES games that were made available to play on the Nintendo Switch for anyone subscribed to the Nintendo Switch Online service. This version included two player and online options.

Sequels

The next game to be released was Mario Kart 64 for the Nintendo 64 in 1996.

See Also

• Mario Kart Tracks